Rutgers Grad: Brianna Delgado’s Life After Graduation
From Juvenile Record to Business Success: How Brianna Delgado Overcame Her Past with Help from Rutgers Camden
Brianna Delgado is one of Rutgers–Camden’s finest students. Graduating this October, she has been a valued member of the community through her involvement in multiple campus organizations. As an undergraduate, she worked at several financial institutions while earning her degree from the Rutgers–Camden School of Business. From her many accomplishments, no one would guess that her childhood was deeply tumultuous. Despite her hard work to overcome her circumstances and beat the odds stacked against her, there were parts of her past that Brianna couldn’t seem to escape.
An issue arose when Brianna applied for her current job at a bank and received a call one day from HR regarding something that appeared on her background check—an incident on her juvenile criminal record from March 2011. Although the incident occurred nearly a decade earlier, Brianna grappled with the frustration that a mistake she made as a 14-year-old could still affect her career prospects and future at age 23.
“I felt a little silly being 23 years old having to explain that to a job… and I’m thinking, ‘Are they gonna hire me? Is this going to make a major impact on my employment?’” Brianna said.
Regretting things we did or said as teenagers is a common experience, and many of us are lucky enough to move forward without looking back. However, for Brianna and others in her position, juvenile records can serve as an unfair tether to the past—one that inhibits future opportunities, especially for disadvantaged youth growing up in underprivileged areas or difficult family situations that lead to consequences beyond their control. Brianna’s case was no different.
Brianna was born and raised in Camden, New Jersey, in a single-parent household. Her father was in prison until she was 14 years old, and she had no relationship with him prior to his release. Being raised solely by her mother was stressful and unhealthy, as Brianna endured physical, verbal, and emotional abuse throughout her childhood—an experience that took a significant toll. She struggled in middle school, coping with anger issues caused by trauma and lacking a healthy outlet for her emotions. One day, that anger came to a boiling point, and she got into an altercation with another classmate who provoked her.
“I was in eighth grade, and I just reacted out of impulse and trauma,” Brianna said. “I remember pulling the student by their hand and telling them never to put their hands on me again. I didn’t hurt the student—no one was harmed. I made a simple mistake acting out of trauma. However, my mother took things into her own hands.”
The school suspended Brianna, required her to complete the rest of the year through homeschooling, and prohibited her from attending the eighth-grade dance. She was only allowed to walk at graduation after pleading for the opportunity.
“They took a lot of things away from me. If I could do it all over again, I would love to go back to eighth grade just to have my dance, because I’m that student who made a mistake and wasn’t able to attend,” Brianna said. “That’s something you look forward to as an eighth grader—sharing that moment with friends before starting high school.”
“The resolution the school came up with just wasn’t enough for my mom. Like I said, she was very abusive. So when it came to this opportunity to seek justice in her own hands, she unfortunately had me arrested in front of my entire class.”
On top of the school’s punishment, Brianna’s mother signed her out of school and had her handcuffed and arrested in front of her classmates. Brianna remembers the anger and confusion she felt as the police put her in the back of the patrol car.
“At 14, I’m being fingerprinted by a police officer, taking mugshot photos, and my mother is sitting there watching this happen. I had no idea why I was there. Eventually, I went into a holding cell for about three hours. I refused to talk to anyone at first, but eventually agreed to speak with the detective and told them everything that happened. They released me back into my mother’s custody until court. Their original plan was to send me to Lakeland Juvenile Correction Center in Lakewood, New Jersey, until my hearing, but because I agreed to talk, they released me,” Brianna said.
Brianna eventually went to court and was sentenced to probation. She was required to take anger management classes, complete community service, pay a fine, and write an apology letter to the victim. When she entered high school, her record followed her. School counselors removed her from the early childhood studies program because of her charges—a devastating blow that forced her into a cosmetology track she didn’t enjoy.
Her personal life was equally difficult. After leaving her mother’s abusive home to live with her father for the first time, Brianna soon realized that situation was not ideal either. She entered foster care instead of returning to either parent’s home, lived briefly with an aunt, and then went back into the system. High school was spent moving between homes and switching schools, yet Brianna continued to excel academically.
As a junior, she fought to re-enter the trade school she preferred, where she discovered her passion for business. Her teachers encouraged her to catch up despite being two years behind in the program, and she performed so well that she was chosen for a job opportunity within the school—offered by the same guidance counselor who had removed her from her original program as a freshman.
“I remember interviewing with [the guidance counselor], and he later told me, ‘I decided to choose you because I’ve seen you grow and change into a better person. I remember freshman year when I had to tell you that you couldn’t be in your career program anymore. Now your name comes across my desk for a job opportunity, and I felt it was meant to be because I already knew your story and how hard it was for you to be 14, have a record, and try to navigate school at the same time,’” Brianna recalled.
Despite the challenges she faced, Brianna is grateful that her experiences led her to discover her passion for business, which inspired her to attend the Rutgers–Camden School of Business. She has been working in the financial industry since 2018. That same experience motivated her to seek a way to expunge her juvenile record once and for all.
After researching her options, Brianna reached out to Camden Fellows, who connected her with Rutgers Law Professor Meredith Schalick. Professor Schalick and her graduate students submitted a petition to the Superior Court of New Jersey in September 2021. By January 2022, Brianna’s expungement was granted, and through the Rutgers Civil Practice Clinic, her juvenile record was permanently erased.
Brianna’s story is a powerful testament to the supportive community at Rutgers–Camden—a place built on helping one another succeed and proving that we are stronger together. Her advice to anyone in a similar situation is to use every available resource and never be afraid to ask for help.
“Do your homework because you never know when there’s going to be an opportunity to get help,” Brianna said. “I was blessed to go to a school that helped me get my record expunged and attend business school—all in my own hometown. I just can’t thank the university enough for everything they’ve done for me and for connecting me with great professionals throughout my time there.”
